Psalms 72:5
in Psalms 72May they fear him as long as the sun shines, as long as the moon remains, through all generations.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
They shall fear thee while the sun endureth, And so long as the moon, throughout all generations.
KJV
They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations.
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This verse in Psalms 72
Commentary
10 notes on this verseThey shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure. And well they may. Such righteousness wins the cheerful homage of the poor and the godly, and strikes dismay into the souls of unrighteous oppressors; so that all through the lands, both good and bad are filled with awe. Where Jesus reigns in power men must render obeisance of some sort. His kingdom, moreover, is no house of cards, or dynasty of days; it is as lasting as the lights of heaven; days and nights will cease before he abdicates his throne.
This site's exposition
as long as the sun shines
on Psalms 72:5-7
The terms of the prayer run past any one reign: the sun, the moon, all generations, and a flourishing until the moon is no more. Verse 6 gives the picture, rain falling on freshly cut grass. Spurgeon read it as a psalm of Christ on that ground.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
So that now, concerning the things to be promised to the people through the kingdom of Zerubbabel, who was assigned for this through the divine judgment, it was not at all inappropriate for the prophet, speaking, to say, "he comes righteous and saving," so that …
"And He shall endure to the sun," or, "shall endure with the sun" (ver. 5). For thus some of our writers have thought would be more exactly translated that which in the Greek is συμπαραμενεῖ. But if in Latin it could have been expressed in one word, it must have been expressed by compermanebit: however, because in Latin the word cannot be expressed, in order that the sense at least might be translated, it hath been expressed by, "He shall endure with the sun." For He shall co-endure to the sun is nothing else but, "He shall endure with the sun." But what great matter is it for Him to endure with the sun, through whom all things were made, and without whom nothing was made, save that this prophecy hath been sent before for the sake of those who think that the religion of the Christian name up to a particular time in this world will live, and afterwards will be no more? "He shall endure" therefore "with the sun," so long as the sun riseth and setteth, that is, so long as these times revolve, there shall not be wanting the Church of God, that is, Christ's body on earth. But that which he addeth, "and before the moon, generations of generations:" he might have expressed by, and before the sun, that is, both with the sun and before the sun: which would have been understood by both with times and before times. That then which goeth before time is eternal: and that is truly to be held eternal which by no time is changed, as, "in the beginning was the Word." But by the moon he hath chosen rather to intimate the waxings and wanings of things mortal. […]
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Thee - Thee, O God, this shall be another blessed fruit of this righteous government, that together with peace, true religion shall be established, and that throughout all generations, which was begun in Solomon's days, but not fully accomplished 'till Christ came.
Faith in Christ will set up, and keep up, the fear of God; and therefore this is the everlasting gospel that is preached, Fear God, and give honour to him, Rev. xiv. And, as Christ's government promotes devotion towards God, so it promotes both justice and charity among men (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
They shall fear thee,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure. And well they may. Such righteousness wins the cheerful homage of the poor and the godly, and strikes dismay into the souls of unrighteous oppressors; so that all through the lands, both good and bad are filled with awe. Where Jesus reigns in power men must render obeisance of some sort. His kingdom, moreover, is no house of cards, or dynasty of days; it is as lasting as the lights of heaven; days and nights will cease before he abdicates his throne. Neither sun nor moon as yet manifest any failure in their radiance, nor are there any signs of decrepitude in the kingdom of Jesus; on the contrary, it is but in its youth, and is evidently the coming power, the rising sun. Would to God that fresh vigour were imparted to all its citizens to push at once the conquests of Immanuel to the uttermost ends of the earth. Throughout all generations shall the throne of the Redeemer stand. Humanity shall not wear out the religion of the Incarnate God. No infidelity shall wither it away, nor superstition smother it; it shall rise immortal from what seemed its grave; as the true phoenix, it shall revive from its ashes! As long as there are men on earth Christ shall have a throne among them. Instead of the fathers shall be the children. Each generation shall have a regeneration in its midst, let Pope and Devil do what they may. Even at this hour we have before us the tokens of his eternal power; since he ascended to his throne, eighteen hundred years ago, his dominion has not been overturned, though the mightiest of empires have gone like visions of the night. We see on the shore of time the wrecks of the Caesars, the relics of the Moguls, and the last remnants of the Ottomans. Charlemagne, Maximilian, Napoleon, how they flit like shadows before us! They were and are not; but Jesus for ever is.
They shall fear thee - There is no sense in which this can be spoken of Solomon, nor indeed of any other man: it belongs to Jesus Christ, and to him alone. He is the Prance of peace, who shall be feared and reverenced “through all generations, and as long as the sun and moon endure.”
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
They shall fear thee - That is, “men” shall fear thee, or thou shalt be feared, or reverenced. The idea is, that his reign would continue, or that he would be obeyed during all the time mentioned here. As long as the sun and moon endure - literally, “With the sun, and before the moon;” that is, as long as they have the sun with them, or have it to shine upon them, and as long as they are in the presence of the moon, or have its light. In other words, they would continue to the end of time; or to the end of the world. It does not denote “eternity,” for it is not assumed in the Bible that the sun and moon will continue forever; but the idea is, that as long as the sun shall continue to shine upon the earth - as long as people shall dwell upon the earth - the kingdom would be perpetual. There would be no change of dynasty; no new empire would arise to displace and to supersede this. This would be the dynasty under which the affairs of the world would be wound up; this the kingdom which would be found at the consummation of all things. The reign of the Messiah will be the “final” reign in the earth; that under which the affairs of earth will close. Throughout all generations - While the generations of people dwell on the earth.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יִֽירָא֥וּךָ | yiraukha | people will fear you | H3372 → | 315 times |
| עִם־ | ʾim- | with | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| שָׁ֑מֶשׁ | shamesh | [the] sun | H8121 → | 134 times |
| וְלִפְנֵ֥י | velifnei | and <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| יָ֝רֵ֗חַ | yareach | [the] moon | H3394 → | 27 times |
| דּ֣וֹר | dor | generation of | H1755 → | 167 times |
| דּוֹרִֽים׃ | dorim | generations | H1755 → | 167 times |
יִֽירָא֥וּךָpeople will fear you
yiraukhaH3372 →315 times
עִם־with
ʾim-H5973 →1050 times
שָׁ֑מֶשׁ[the] sun
shameshH8121 →134 times
וְלִפְנֵ֥יand <to> before
velifneiH6440 →2123 times
יָ֝רֵ֗חַ[the] moon
yareachH3394 →27 times
דּ֣וֹרgeneration of
dorH1755 →167 times
דּוֹרִֽים׃generations
dorimH1755 →167 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Daniel 7:14And He was given dominion, glory, and kingship, that the people of every nation and language should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is…
it leads to
- Daniel 7:27
Then the sovereignty, dominion, and greatness of the kingdoms under all of heaven will be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 11:15
Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and loud voices called out in heaven: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign…
- Daniel 2:44
In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will shatter all these kingdoms…
- John 3:35
The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in His hands.
- Daniel 7:27
Through
Revelation 11:15Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and loud voices called out in heaven: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign…
it leads to
- Daniel 7:14
And He was given dominion, glory, and kingship, that the people of every nation and language should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is…
- Revelation 12:10
And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ. For the accuser of our…
- Revelation 10:7
But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be fulfilled, just as He proclaimed to His servants the…
- Daniel 7:14
Through
Psalms 72:17May his name endure forever; may his name continue as long as the sun shines. In him may all nations be blessed; may they call him blessed.
it leads to
- Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.
- Isaiah 7:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
About Psalms
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 72; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 3; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theodore of Mopsuestia, COMMENTARY ON ZECHARIAH 9:10-12.